


A Break With Routine

by TheMightyFlynn



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Didn't Know They Were Dating, Don't copy to another site, Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-14
Updated: 2019-07-14
Packaged: 2020-06-27 21:22:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,437
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19798012
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheMightyFlynn/pseuds/TheMightyFlynn
Summary: Friday nights had a routine. It was a comfortable routine, but could it be more?





	A Break With Routine

**Author's Note:**

> Written for nottayjlee on LJ for the rarepair_shorts wishlists. The prompts were: didn't know they were dating, and fluff. :)

Friday nights had a routine. Vince would get off work at the Ministry where he worked as a bodyguard for the eggheads in the Obliviator Headquarters, before heading home for a warm shower and a coffee that didn't taste like mud. Once he had caffeinated, he headed into his bedroom to dress for the night.

Any other night of the week, this would mean robes, but Fridays were different; they were special. Fridays meant jeans and a shirt, with big, clunky boots, and a leather jacket. Comfort, rather than formality.

He would meet up with Greg and they would head out into London to a bar, a new one each week. Vince would sit at the bar and sample each of the beers in turn while Greg provided a running commentary on the people arriving. He had a rather biting sense of humour, which Vince appreciated, especially when it came to Greg's opinions on some of their old schoolmates. When Vince found a beer he liked, he would drink half of it, then slide the mug over so Greg could give it a try as well.

It was a comfortable routine; one they had established just after the end of the war. So, having that routine disrupted was off-putting, to say the least. Half an hour before their usual time this particular Friday night, his doorbell rang, startling him out of his thoughts.

"It's open," he called, leaning his head out of the bathroom door. "Be there in a minute."

Slapping the rest of his aftershave on, Vince reached into the cabinet and pulled out his toothbrush. Just as he got the toothpaste nice and foamy, an unexpected voice rang out from the hallway.

"Vince? Where are you?"

Vince nearly choked on his toothbrush. Rinsing and spitting quickly, he frowned into the mirror. "Draco?" He replaced his toothbrush and trudged out into the hall. "What're you doing here?"

"Stopping in to say hi to an old friend?"

Draco stood just in front of the door, hands shoved into the pockets of some rather expensive-looking woollen slacks, rocking slowly back and forth on his toes. Vince grinned. Most people found Draco difficult to read, but for those who had known him since childhood, this kind of body language clearly stated excitement of some kind.

"Really?" Vince crossed his arms over his chest, still grinning. "That's all?"

Clearly, whatever had brought Draco there was something special. A grin wide enough to match Vince's spread across his face as their eyes met.

"She said yes."

It took a couple of seconds for Vince to realise just what Draco meant. When it finally clicked, however, he let out a loud whoop. Bounding forward, he grasped Draco's hand and slapped him enthusiastically on the back.

"Astoria?"

"Who else?" There was laughter to Draco's voice. "How many women do you think are after me?"

Vince merely grinned. The general consensus on him was that he was unobservant and ignorant, he knew. The things he had seen over the years, however… He shook his head. If Draco was unaware of the amount of times people checked him out, then Vince was not about to make him aware of it. Especially when it seemed that he had found a perfect match for himself. Nodding towards the kitchen, he moved off.

"Drink?"

"I'm not interrupting anything?"

Vince glanced over his shoulder. Draco was still standing in the hall, now looking slightly unsure of whether he should be there.

"Interrupting what?"

"Well…" Before he could continue, a heavy thumping rattled the door. Draco gave Vince a significant look. "Sounds like Greg's here." Not waiting for Vince to react, Draco turned and pulled the door open.

"Hey, I – oh!" Greg stood on the front doorstep, his eyebrows raised high as he stared down at Draco. His eyes flicked between the two of them for a few seconds, confusion crossing his face. "What's going on?"

"Don't worry, I'm not here for long."

Draco cast a _look_ over his shoulder. Vince frowned. There was something he was missing, he knew, but what it could be, he had no idea. He shifted his weight, shuffling a little as he waited for Draco to break the news to Greg.

"Okay… What, then?" Greg still sounded confused.

"I proposed to Tori."

"Oh!" The confusion cleared from Greg's voice and face immediately, to be replaced by a wide grin. "We're going to a wedding?"

Draco shook his head. "You two had a lot more faith in me than I did, it seems." There was laughter to his voice now. "Yes, there will be a wedding. No firm plans yet, but you're both in the wedding party, yeah?"

"Of course." Greg glanced up, locking eyes with Vince. "Wouldn't miss it."

There was _definitely_ something he was missing. Vince smiled back and was sure that he agreed, but was too preoccupied with trying to work out just what it was that felt so off that he couldn't be absolutely certain. He watched as Greg congratulated Draco in the same way he had: a handshake and a few slaps on the back.

"Well, I'll leave you to it, shall I?" Draco moved past Greg to the door. His eyes flicked between them a couple of times. "He's all yours."

With another smile, Draco slipped out the door, closing it behind him. Greg glanced over before shoving his hands into his pockets.

"We right to go?"

Something tingled down Vince's spine. There was obviously something that both Draco and Greg knew that he didn't. Neither of them would have been acting so strange if there wasn't. He frowned again as confusion flooded him.

"What did he mean by 'he's all yours'?"

"Nothing."

Moving slowly down the hallway, Vince could feel his eyebrows drawing down even further. "It didn't sound like nothing."

"It _is_ nothing." Greg shifted, pulling his hands from his pockets to cross his arms over his chest. "He's being stupid."

Well, _that_ sounded wrong. Out of the three of them, Draco was the one least likely to be called stupid.

"Greg–"

"It's _nothing_." He refused to meet Vince's eyes when he moved closer. "Look, can we just go?"

Still avoiding Vince's eyes, he reached for the doorhandle, but Vince was too quick for him. Greg's hand landed on top of Vince's on the handle. It was soft and warm, squeezing Vince's fingers for a second before Greg jumped back.

"Not until you tell me what's going on."

The scowl Greg sent him was thunderous. He began to move, stomping down the hall a few paces before turning and glaring at the closed door. Vince moved so he was standing before the handle, making it impossible to open unless Greg wanted to make a very uncomfortable – and rather awkward – move. Greg sighed.

"He thinks we're dating, alright? He's not the only one, either."

Vince blinked. When the words didn't seem to make any more sense, he blinked again.

"What?"

Greg took another few steps away. "I told them. I said how dumb it was. Told them that you…" He shook his head. "It doesn't matter. I told you he was being stupid. That's it. Are we going?"

_Dating_? He and Greg? Vince's mind whirled. They had been going out together on Friday nights for a few years now, but _going out_? The idea was… possibly not as stupid as Greg had declared it, he had to admit. He'd never considered it, but he had no real objection. Greg was a good man and a good friend. It wouldn't take much adjusting for the two of them to slip into a much more comfortable routine, would it? He tried to catch Greg's eyes, but Greg was stubbornly staring at the floor. Running a hand along the back of his neck, Vince shrugged.

"Do you want to?"

Greg froze. It was kind of funny to watch, really. It seemed as though he had stopped even breathing, he was so still.

"Want to… what?"

Vince had to grin. "Well, we've been going out every Friday for the past few years. We could, you know, _go out_."

"We could?"

Vince shrugged again. "Yeah. If you want, I mean. If not, then–"

He was cut off as Greg closed the distance between them in three quick strides. Warmth surrounded him as he was dragged close to Greg's solid chest. The kiss was… nice. Not harsh, not anywhere near as desperate as some of his past kisses had been, but _nice_. Comfortable, even. Natural. Vince smiled when they broke apart.

"I want," Greg murmured in the small gap between them. "I _definitely_ want."


End file.
